Menno Simons (1496-1561) was an early Dutch leader of the
"Radical Reformation" - radical in the sense that they yearned to
get to the "root" of the biblical manner of living. They
specifically rejected the "magisterial Reformation" of Martin Luther
(1483-1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564). This church was called the
Anabaptists by others (because they denied the baptism of infants), and was
often the object of criticism, charges of heresy, and persecution. The
Mennonites were not very different from other churches in their liturgy,
theology. Rather, they tried to exemplify Christian living through the
examples given by Christ at His Sermon on the Mount. Until very
recently, most of those involved with the Mennonite tradition refused to take
oaths, refused to be involved in any secular activity, bear arms, vote, or
hold public office. They are believers who are "called out" of
secular society to the extent that they avoid any unnecessary association with
it.

The first Anabaptist congregation of record was founded at
Zurich, Switzerland in 1525 by those who disagreed with Ulrich Zwingli
(1484-1531) in his readiness to forge a union of church and state.
Anabaptist congregations were also formed in the Netherlands by Obbe Philips
(1500-1568) as early as 1534. Philips baptized Menno who was a converted
Roman Catholic priest. It was Menno who formed so many congregations
that his name became synonymous with the movement. Simon's writings,
which emphasize pacifism, are still held in high regard by the movement today.
However, their pacifism and rejection of allegiance to the state brought
severe persecution and the number of martyrs might have been much more had
they not been offered haven in Pennsylvania by William Penn (1644-1718) in
America.

Thirteen families settled in Germantown near Philadelphia in
1683, and eventually these families formed a Mennonite congregation.
Further Mennonite immigrants from Germany and Switzerland spread over
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, and far into western America
and Canada. Thanks to their tradition of nonviolence and pacifism, their
colonies were relatively free from discord and often prosperous.

Mennonite beliefs are largely based upon a confession of faith
signed in Dordecht, Holland in 1632. The following doctrines were laid
out in eighteen articles: faith in God as Creator, humanity's fall and
restoration at the coming of Christ, Christ as the son of God who liberated
mankind on the cross, obedience to Christ's law as the gospel, the necessity
of repentance and conversion for salvation, baptism as a public testimony of
faith, the Lord's Supper as an expression of common unity and fellowship,
matrimony only among the "spiritually kindred," obedience to and
respect for civil government except in the use of armed force, exclusion from
the church and social ostracism of those who sin willfully, and future reward
for the faithful and punishment for the wicked.

The Lord's supper is served twice a year at most Mennonite
Churches, and baptism is generally by pouring and nor by immersion. Most
also observe foot-washing ceremony in connection with the Lord's Supper after
which they salute one another with the kiss of peace. The two sexes are
separate in the last two ceremonies. Mennonites are baptized only on
confession of faith, refuse to take oaths before magistrates, oppose secret
societies, and strictly follow the teachings of the New Testament. There
is also a strong intra-church program of mutual aid and provide worldwide
relief through the Mennonite Council Committee.

The local congregation is fairly autonomous and authoritative,
although sometimes appeals may be taken to the district or national level.
The officers of the church are bishops (often called elders), ministers, and
deacons (almoners). Many ministers are self supporting working at other
occupations to earn their support when not occupied with the affairs of the
church.

The Amish movement is from within the ranks of the Mennonite
Church and takes its name from Jacob Amman (1656 - 1730), a Swiss Mennonite
bishop who insisted on strict adherence to the confessions of the faith,
especially in the matter of shunning excommunicated members. This
literalism brought about a separation in Switzerland in 1693. Amish
immigrants came to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, and other western states and into Canada.
Many Amish are distinguished by their severely plain clothing are found in the
Conservative Amish Mennonite Church and Older Order Amish Mennonite Church.
The Amish still cling tenaciously to the Pennsylvania Dutch language and
seventeenth-century culture of their Swiss German forbearers. The Amish
oppose the use of automobiles, telephones, and higher education and are
recognized as extremely efficient farmers.

The major Mennonite body was brought to Germantown,
Pennsylvania by Dutch and German immigrants in 1683. The Dordrecht
Confession was adopted at a conference of Pennsylvania Mennonite ministers in
1725 as a Mennonite statement of faith. Christian Fundamentals were
adopted, and a confession was adopted in 1963 which sought to set forth the
major doctrines of Scripture as understand in the Anabaptist-Mennonite
tradition. The confessions stresses belief in Christ, the saved status
of children, the importance of proclaiming God's Word and "making
disciples," baptism of believers, absolute love, nonresistance rather
than retaliation as one's personal response to injustice and maltreatment, and
the church as a nonhierarchical community. Because of their insistence
on freedom from the usual Mennonite attire, this group has been considered
"liberal" by some Mennonites.

The general assembly meets every two years and brings together
representatives from all area conferences. Discussion is open to all;
however, only elected delegates may vote.

Church-wide programs boards are in charge of mission,
congregational ministries, education, publishing, and mutual aid work all
under supervision of the church's general board. The church sponsors
hospitals, retirement homes, and child-welfare services. Membership is
strongest in Pennsylvania and the Midwest states.

In 1995, the General Conference Mennonites and members of the
Mennonite Church adopted a new Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective.
The confession is the most recent in a series of historical Anabaptist faith
statements beginning with the Scleitheim Articles, written in 1527. The
new confession of faith includes twenty four articles that interpret Mennonite
beliefs about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy spirit, Scripture, creation, sin,
salvation, the church, Christian life and mission, peace and justice, and the
reign of God.

These churches are made up of mostly Amish Mennonites who
separate from the more conservative Old Order Amish. They were
originally led by Bishop Moses M. Beachy in 1927, and they are now found
primarily in Pennsylvania and Ohio. They believe in the Trinity and that
the Bible is the infallible Word by which all people will be judged, the
righteous going to heaven and the wicked to eternal suffering.

These adherents resemble Old Order Amish in clothing and
general attitude, but their discipline is milder. They worship in church
buildings, have Sunday Schools, and are active in supporting missionary work.
They sponsor a monthly publication, Calvary Messenger, and an annual
twelve-week Calvary Bible School.

This church started in Germany following the economic and
social devastation following World War 1. It was founded by Eberhard
Arnold (1883 - 1835), a theologian and writer, and came to North America
during the 1960s. The church has now grown to nine communities in the
United States, England, and Australia where about 2500 men, women, and
children live in common in accordance with the witness of the early Christians
as described in Acts Chapters 2 and 4. They live in a community that
shares their property, work and worship together, and in all things seek
unity. Many more people are associated with the movement without being
members.

The church believes that followers of Jesus are empowered by
the Spirit to live now in accordance with God's rule and reign as expressed in
the Sermon on the Mount. Their mission is to witness Christ as it is
possible to lead a new life and share this life with others in a community of
Saints.

The Bruderhof affirm the sanctity of all life and oppose every
form of violence and killing including abortion, capital punishment, war, and
physician-assisted suicide. They believe in the sanctity of marriage
(between one man and one woman), and the sanctity of sex (sexual intimacy
within marriage only). They do not proselytize but seek to work together
with everybody.

This church grew out of the teaching of John Holeman (1832 -
1900) who was a Mennonite who became convinced that the church was in error in
many of its teachings and practices. He believed that they had moved
form the doctrines and teachings of its past, and preached the necessity of
the new birth, Holy Ghost baptism, more adequate training of children in the
fundamentals of the Christian faith, disciplining of unfaithful members,
avoidance of apostates, and condemnation of worldly minded churches. He
separated from the Mennonite Church in 1859 and began to hold meetings with a
small group of followers, eventually organizing into the Church of God in
Christ, Mennonite.

The church holds that the same confession of faith must be
preached and believed in all churches "from the time of the apostles to
the end of the world." They also hold that the Bible, is the
inspired, infallible word of God, and must govern all doctrine and teaching.
They accept the Eighteen Articles of Faith drawn up at Dordrecht, Holland in
1642, and insist that women keep their head covered and that men wear beards.
They also are not involved in the military or in secular government.

Most congregations of the Church maintain a Christian school
for the education of their children, and have missions in the U.S., Canada,
Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, the Philippines, India, Nigeria, and other
countries. In the United States, Kansas has the highest concentration of
believers.

The Conservative Mennonite Conference is an autonomous
affiliation of congregations within the Mennonite church that formed in 1910
in a meeting of concerned Amish Mennonite Church leaders in Pigeon, Michigan.
There were five ministers in attendance at this conference who represented
Amish Mennonite church that were reluctant to adopt the Old Order Amish
Mennonite conservative approach toward culture expression. However, they
were also more conservative than the prevailing Amish Mennonite and Mennonite
approach at that time. Members are expected to refrain from gambling,
alcohol, tobacco, immodest dress, swearing oaths, and premarital and
extra-marital sexual activity.

The highest decision making body in the Conservative Mennonite
Conference is the semiannual Minister's Business Meeting, which elects an
executive board and a general secretary to oversee the day to day operations
of the conference. Rosedale Bible Institute in Irwin, Ohio offers
college level courses in various Christian studies. The conference
sponsors Bethel Mennonite Camp for youth in eastern Kentucky, and the official
publication of the CMC is the Brotherhood
Beacon.

This body of believers was formerly called the Defenseless
Mennonite Church and was founded as a result of a spiritual awakening among
the Amish in Indiana under the leadership of Henry Egly. The church
stresses the need for repentance and regeneration before baptism. Egly's
practice of re-baptizing Amish who experience conversion led to conflict
within the Amish community, leading to the formation of the evangelical
church. The church continues to emphasize regeneration, separation and
nonconformity to the world, and nonresistance.

The church operate a children's home in Flanagan, Illinois,
and a camp near Kalamazoo, Michigan. The present name was adopted in
1949; however, by 2000 the church was exploring the possibility of dropping
the word "Mennonite" from its name.

This group of Mennonite believers originated from the Russian
immigration of Mennonites into the U.S. and Canada during 1873 and 1874.
The Conference was founded in 1889 in order to emphasize the evangelical
doctrines of repentance, conversion, baptism on confession of faith, and
living lives which are committed to Jesus Christ. This group also
adheres to belief in the inerrant, inspired Word of God and to a
dispensational interpretation of history and the Bible which emphasizes the
imminent return of Christ.

This body of Mennonite believers is Dutch and German in
background but was organized in the Ukraine. This group seeks a greater
attention to prayer and Bible study than are found in the usual Mennonite
church. Its founders were heavily influenced by German Pietism, but they
retained the congregational polity common to the Mennonite church. There
are small bodies which were originally located in Kansas and then which spread
to the Pacific Coast and Canada.

There is a radio ministry which broadcasts worldwide in
English, German, and Russian, and also a French-language Bible Institute which
was established in Quebec, Canada.

The Missionary Church is conservative and evangelical in
theology and practice. The churches are free to manage their own affairs
but recognize and adhere to the authority of a general conference made up of
clergy, missionaries, and laity. The president, vice president, and
secretary of this church are elected for a period of four years.

The Amish hold to the old traditions of the Amish movement
more strictly than the so-called Church Amish. Their "plain dress"
requires the use of hooks and eyes instead of buttons or zippers, and members
do not use automobiles.

The Old Order Amish do not use church buildings but rather
meet in each other's houses. There are no conference and members do not
believe in missions or benevolent institutions or centralized schools.
Some do contribute to the missions and charities of the Mennonite Church.

The church was named for Jacob Wisler, the first Mennonite
bishop in Indiana who separated from the church in 1872 to protest the use of
English in the services and the introduction of Sunday schools. Similar
to the Old Order Amish Churches, these believers maintain the old style of
clothing and make only very limited use of modern technology while keeping
separate from the outside world.

Each section of the church has its own district conference and
there are conferences twice each year in each community. Each church
takes part in relief work, especially for the needy at home and in foreign
countries, and they also contribute to the work of the Mennonite Church.